6.  The applicants were born in 1968 and 1966 respectively and live in Ștefan Vodă. They are husband and wife.
7.  On 4 May 2000 the first applicant was giving birth to a child. The head of the obstetrics and gynaecology department of the Ştefan-Vodă regional hospital, Mr B., performed a Caesarean section on her. During the procedure he removed her ovaries and Fallopian tubes, without obtaining her permission. As a result of the operation, the first applicant, who was thirty-two at the time, suffered an early menopause.
8.  Since 2001 the first applicant has been having medical treatment designed to counteract the effects of the early menopause, including hormone replacement therapy. According to her doctors, she has to continue such treatment until she is between fifty-two and fifty-five years old, after which further treatment will be required.
9.  According to a neurology report dated 5 November 2001, the first applicant was suffering from astheno-depressive syndrome and osteoporosis. On 18 February 2002 the doctors found that the first applicant experienced hot flushes, neurosis and frequent heart palpitations. On 8 May 2002 she was diagnosed with asthenic neurosis.
10.  According to the results of an examination carried out by a medical panel on 18 March 2003, the removal of the first applicant’s ovaries and Fallopian tubes had been unnecessary and the surgery had resulted in her being sterilised.
11.  On 26 July 2006 a psychiatrist and a psychologist established that the first applicant was suffering from long-term psychological problems and that she continued to show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.
12.  On 15 March 2005 the Căuşeni District Court convicted B. of medical negligence which had caused severe damage to the health and bodily integrity of the victim. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for one year. The court referred to medical reports and found, inter alia, that B. had failed to inform the applicants of the sterilisation until ten days after the event. The first applicant’s ovaries could have been preserved, but B. had failed to do so.
13.  On 11 May 2005 the Bender Court of Appeal upheld that judgment.
14.  On 2 August 2005 the Supreme Court of Justice quashed the lower courts’ judgments and adopted its own judgment, finding B. guilty but absolving him of criminal responsibility because the limitation period for sentencing him had expired.
15.  On an unknown date in March 2007 the applicants started civil proceedings against the Ştefan-Vodă regional hospital and B., claiming compensation for the damage caused, comprising 9,909 Moldovan lei (MDL – approximately 587 euros (EUR) at the time) for pecuniary damage, MDL 1 million (EUR 59,740) for the first applicant and MDL 100,000 (EUR 5,974) for the second applicant in respect of non-pecuniary damage, and MDL 2,700 (EUR 160) for legal costs. They also sought a court order for the hospital to provide the first applicant with free treatment for as long as her condition required, as prescribed by her doctors. The applicants’ lawyer provided detailed explanations and evidence in support of each of these claims, including various medical reports, the cost of medical consultations, laboratory analyses and treatment undertaken by the first applicant, and the findings of the criminal courts in the case against B.
16.  On 18 September 2007 the Căuşeni District Court accepted the applicants’ claims in part, referring to the findings of the criminal courts and the medical evidence in the file. It ordered the hospital to provide the first applicant with the requisite medication until the year 2020. The court also awarded MDL 1,119 (EUR 69) to the applicants for pecuniary damage, as well as MDL 5,000 (EUR 306) to the first applicant and MDL 1,000 (EUR 61) to the second applicant in respect of non-pecuniary damage. In this latter connection, the court found that B. had voluntarily compensated the applicants for the pecuniary losses they had incurred and that awarding sums as large as those claimed by the applicants would have seriously affected the activities of the (State-owned) hospital.
17.  On 24 January 2008 the Chişinău Court of Appeal partly quashed that judgment, increasing the award for non-pecuniary damage to the first applicant to MDL 10,000 (EUR 607) plus MDL 1,237 (EUR 75) for costs. The court observed that, under the applicable legal provisions, the size of an award of compensation for non-pecuniary damage was to be determined by taking into consideration the circumstances of the case, including the nature and seriousness of suffering caused to the victim, the degree of guilt of the person who had caused the suffering, and the degree to which such compensation could bring about just satisfaction for the victim. The court referred to the findings of the criminal courts in the case against B., as well as the first applicant’s medical reports (see paragraph 10 above).
18.  The applicants lodged an appeal on points of law, arguing inter alia that the lower courts had not given sufficient reasons for making such a nominal award, which had not offered them redress for the violation of their rights. They referred to the various medical reports confirming that, besides the long-lasting psychological effect on the first applicant resulting from being permanently sterilised without her knowledge or consent, she continued to suffer from health problems which required constant medical treatment.
19.  In a final judgment of 24 September 2008 the Supreme Court of Justice upheld the judgment of 24 January 2008, essentially repeating the arguments of the lower court.
20.  The award in the applicants’ favour was enforced in March 2009.